Active Community Transportation Act, H.R.4722

Proposed $2 billion fund to encourage bicycle and walking networks at the local level. Details on how you can be involved below.

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) introduced H.R. 4722, the Active Community Transportation Act of 2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 2, 2010. If passed, , the U.S. Department of Transportation will administer a competitive fund to invest in communities that best make the case for resources to shift large numbers of trips from driving to walking and bicycling. The $2 billion fund will help communities build bicycling and walking networks. For the first time, communities would be able to compete for multi-year funding to build active transportation systems, just as they do for transit and road infrastructure.

“Too often we take for granted the value of being able to bike and walk to work,” said Blumenauer. “It’s unfortunate that many communities don’t have the infrastructure in place to make active and healthy forms of transportation more accessible. The ACT transportation grants will make it easier for people to get out of their vehicles and onto sidewalks or bikes, boosting both heart rates and community vitality.”

Advocates attending the 2010 National Bike Summit in Washington DC are visiting legislators today, encouraging them to co-sponsor and vote for the Active Community Transportation Act. Even if you are not attending the bike summit, organizers are asking you contact your representative TODAY — March 11 — as a kind of “virtual lobby day” for this measure.

To write to your representative, visit the US House of Representatives website, punch your ZIP+4 in the “write your representative” form at the top of the page, click on the resulting representative’s website, find his or her contact form, fill in your personal contact information, select “transportation” for the issue field, and write a short to the point message specifically asking him to support H.R.4722, the Active Community Transportation Act.

For detailed information on the Active Community Transportation Act of 2010, visit Rails to Trails Conservancy advocacy page or LAB info page on HR 4722.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.